Burundi

Burundi covers 27,834 km2 and borders Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is landlocked.

Most of the country is hilly plateau between 1,400 and 1,800 m, dropping in the west to the Rift Valley floor and Lake Tanganyika at around 770 m. Mount Heha is the highest point at 2,684 m.

Burundi has a moderate tropical highland climate because of its altitude, generally 20C to 27C in most of the country.

There are two rainy seasons, from February to May and September to November. The Rift Valley floor near Lake Tanganyika is noticeably hotter than the highlands, and the highest areas can be genuinely cool.

There are several important landmarks, monuments and buildings in Burundi including the Livingstone-Stanley Monument, Monument de l'Unite (of National Unity), Eglise Vivante de Jesus Christ (church), Regina Mundi Cathedral and Mausolee du Prince Louis Rwagasore.

The tourist trade in Burundi is centred mainly around the capital city of Bujumbura and the beautiful area of Lake Tanganyika. There are interesting things to see and do in Bujumbura with tourist attractions ranging from restaurants, bars and nightlife to museums, architecture, and places of worship including a cathedral and large mosque. Lake Tanganyika, located in the southwestern part of the country, is a popular tourist attraction. Its water spreads across four countries including Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the second oldest freshwater lake in the world by volume. Many species of fish and reptile can found living in Lake Tanganyika and its wetlands including crocodiles, terrapins, water cobras and cichlid fish.

Burundi is famous for being part of the Great African Lakes which occur in four African countries. Burundi forms part of the Albertine Rift in the western region of the East African Rift. This small country is home to hundreds of animals and plants, and has stunning landscapes and geographical features including national parks, forests, hot springs, lakes and rivers.

Kirundi, French and English are all official. Kirundi is spoken by essentially the entire population, which is unusual and makes Burundi linguistically very unified.

Around 93 per cent of Burundians are Christian. The Royal Drummers, or Abatimbo, are the best-known cultural export, and drumming has been recognised as a national heritage tradition with strict rules on who may perform it.

Among the population's ethic groups are the Hatu, Twa and Tutsi peoples who have inhabited the country for more than 500 years. Burundi was an independent Kingdom until the start of the 20th century when the area was colonized by the Germans. Both the Germans and Belgiums ruled over Burundi and neighboring Rwanda following WWI when Germany gave Burundi to Belgium. The European colony became known as Ruanda-Urundi.

Coffee and tea are the main exports, grown on hillside smallholdings. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world by income per person.

Almost 90 per cent of the population depends on subsistence farming. Fishing on Lake Tanganyika is important locally, and nickel deposits have been identified but not developed at scale.

A white diagonal cross divides the flag into red sections at top and bottom and green at the sides, with a white disc in the centre carrying three red six-pointed stars edged in green.

Red stands for the suffering of the independence struggle, green for hope, and white for peace. The three stars stand for the national motto, Unity, Work, Progress, and also for the three main population groups: Hutu, Tutsi and Twa.